It�s All Mathematics: Learning Trickonometry with Cody Weber

There was a time when skate shop videos were as abundant as porn stars at Charlie Sheen’s house. Now it seems that due to the recession, many shops are struggling to pay their utility bills, let alone give some young buck any sort of budget for a film. Luckily for us in the Great Salt Lake Valley, we have a few shops that are going strong and are fortunate enough to be able to bring us such a visual delight. With a fresh start and a new team, Technique will be dropping “Trickonometry” on Utah like a baby grand piano. I had the chance to speak with Cody Weber, the man behind the film (and camera) to get an insider’s look into the film and the process it entails.

SLUG: What can you tell me about yourself?Weber: Well, My name is Cody (aka OG Coda). I like to skate, film, shoot photos and work on cars, I guess. I grew up back and forth in really small towns in Utah and Colorado. I love kicking it with all my homies from the team and other local dudes like everyone at Brick and Mortar, SK801 homies, .egduF kids, Milo homies, and all the skate park rats, and working at the shop with Shake and Kenny. I just like doing something all the time.

SLUG: How did you get involved with filming and photography? I assume you skate, so why the change of perspective, so to speak?Weber: I have always been attracted to the media side of the skate industry ever since I started skating back in 1998. I was always down to film my brother and friends with my big-ass VHS and Hi8 cameras. Then in about 2005, I really started getting into shooting photos and videos while living in a super small town with only a few hundred people and only my brother and a few other kids to film. After working at a Subway in a truck stop for about two years, I saved enough to get my first real video setup. After that I pretty much sold and traded all my stuff off to upgrade my setup.

SLUG: How did you hook up with the Technique crew and when?Weber: After turning 18, I started coming to Salt Lake a lot to film for a homie video (YEAH! Skateboards) and ended up blowing out my knee. After getting hurt, I really had to take a hard look at how things were going and decided to make filming my main priority. I packed up all my things and quit my job in the oil field and moved to Salt Lake with nothing but a few boxes of clothes and my gear. I started talking to Kyle Wilcox and a few other SK801 homies and started filming with them until Kenny Payne hooked it up with a job in the shop.

SLUG: Whose idea was it to do a team video?Weber: After working in the shop for a while and seeing that the old Technique team had pretty much gone off to do their own thing with SK801, I saw my chance to film a whole new video with Technique’s name backing it. I sat down with Kenny and Moses Sanchez and we decided that it was the best thing to do. With all the rad new local skaters popping up all over the valley, this was a perfect opportunity for everyone. So I started building the team from the ground up.

SLUG: The last Technique shop video received some accolades throughout the skate community. Were you a part of it? Weber: I really had nothing to do with the last video, aside from filming a few friends’ section tricks, but I really have to give it up to Kyle Wilcox for the Four Down video. He really inspired me and a lot of other dudes in the valley, with a good video and cool dudes.

SLUG: Who is out and who’s in for this year’s video?Weber: Well the video won’t have anyone from the other Technique videos in the past, due to the new SK801 video dropping soon, but that’s the cool thing: This video has a lot of new kids that a lot of people probably haven’t heard of yet. The new team consists of: Christian Ridgway, Sergio Rivera, Zack Hipolito, Spencer Weber, Brodie Penrod, Kwami Adzitso, Jerry Alvarado, Jacob Manzanerez, Nathen Martinez, Colton Brown, Patrick Evje and Chandler Seipert. Some of the guys are sharing parts so it will fit together nicely.

SLUG: Do you feel any pressure to step up the next video?Weber: I don’t want to doubt myself, but trying to top Kyle’s videos is something I don’t see myself doing anytime soon. I just want to make a good skate video that gets kids hyped. I’m pretty hard on myself, so that’s about the only pressure I’m feeling.

SLUG: Where did the name “Trickonometry” stem from?Weber: We had a team meeting one night and came down to like five names. We voted on the last five and came up with the name ‘Trickonometry.’ There is a theme––you will get it when the video comes out.

SLUG: How long have you been filming/editing this flick?Weber: Well, there wasn’t really a set date to start, but I would have to say a little under a year.

SLUG: What are the major stresses of filming and editing? Can you take us through the monotony of filming and editing?Weber: Having a full-time job, filming a full-length skate video, making time for family, my girlfriend and just daily life can get a bit stressful. I would have to say the most stressful thing about filming this video is having around 10 dudes to film a part and trying to coordinate a time and place to get it done. Also, there is the stress of getting hassled by all the power-hungry security guards and having a few computers crash. All and all, it has been really fun making this video.

SLUG: What’s the daily routine of filming with the team? Weber: The daily routine usually goes something like this: I wake up, start calling some dudes if Colton or Brodie haven’t already called me 100 times, bribe Spencer with a dirty halfy and a 40 oz. to get out of bed. Meet up at Technique at about 12:00 p.m. and kill way too much time waiting around for Hippo or something. Jump in the car, hit at least three or four spots, watch Christian get buck and smash his head a few times before he and Brodie get bangers, skate and have tons of fun until the sun goes down, then come home to capture everything.

SLUG: The best part of filming? The worst part of filming?Weber: Best part for sure is being with all the good homies and just having a good time skating. I get to travel to some amazing places with all these dudes, film some rad things and just live life, y’know? There are not many things that bring people together like filming a video. I would say the worst part is watching people get broken off. I hate seeing someone going so hard for something and just get worked over and over again. Cops suck, too.

SLUG: Do you try to capture skaters’ personalities when filming and editing? What’s the trick to making a section not feel like skate porn or a melodrama?Weber: I really like to film some kind of lifestyle stuff for everyone’s parts that shows you something about the person. Like if they’re just straight up gnar and just get down to it, or if they are funny and like to party or something. Stuff like that makes you understand the person is not just a skater in the video. Music is a big part, too: If the song doesn’t go with the skater, it makes it hard to watch.

SLUG: Can we expect anything groundbreaking or different from this video, or are we in for just banger trick after banger?Weber: I don’t want to speak for anyone on the team, but from how I’m seeing things, this video is going to kill it! All the kids on the team and even the B-team have really given this video nothing but their best. I don’t want to give away too much, so I’ll leave it at that.

SLUG: Who inspires you on the team? Who has the best part in your mind?Weber: I would have to say everyone. Just watching dudes like Spencer, Christian and all the other guys give it their all and progress so much in such a short time really inspires me. I can’t really say who will have the best part, so I’ll just leave it up to the viewers.

SLUG: Filming is a full-time gig in itself, how do you find time to shoot photos too? Any behind the scenes assistants/friends we should know about?Weber: Dude, there are some pretty crazy days where I need to shoot a photo and film a trick, but I usually have a homie with me, like Brandon Tucker. My roommate Jerry Ruiz, Mitchell Shultz, Nick Pompa and some other homies have helped me a ton, but all and all I pretty much have things covered.

SLUG: When will we be able to see the finished product? Any premieres or parties set up?Weber: We are going to have a really laid-back premiere for the video. We aren’t trying to make it a super huge deal to the point where it gets way more hyped up than it was intended to be and bum people out when it’s not all it was talked up to be. It’s a video from skaters, for skaters. It’s most likely going to be dropping in late spring, just in time to hype kids up for the good weather. The after-party is going to be BUCK, son! I’ll keep everyone updated on details.